by Regenerative farming: If you’re an aspiring farmer, there’s no doubt that you’ve seen this buzzword during your research — and it might sound like a great opportunity to jump on an emerging trend.
But with specific farming methods to learn, equipment to invest in, and marketing strategies to adopt, diving headfirst into the world of regenerative farming can be intimidating.
That’s why we’ve created this quick guide on how to start a regenerative farm. Keep reading to learn what regenerative farming is, why you should embrace the regenerative farming movement, and the four essential steps to sustainable success.
Why Should You Start a Regenerative Farm?
Regenerative farming has exploded in popularity in recent years — and it’s easy to see why.
Starting a regenerative farm has significant benefits for the planet, your community, and your wallet. Let’s take a look at some specific reasons why you should consider becoming a regenerative farmer:
- Sustainability: Regenerative farming methods are designed to protect soil health, promote biodiversity, and minimize the agriculture industry’s effect on our planet’s climate.
- Higher yields: Prioritizing soil health increases your farm’s fertility, leads to more bountiful harvests, and promotes drought resistance.
- Ethical livestock handling: Sustainable, regenerative livestock practices are often more humane than traditional farming methods.
- Nutrition: Regeneratively and organically raised meats and produce are often categorized as healthier, nutrient-dense options compared to traditionally farmed products.
- Customer peace of mind: Starting a regenerative farm lets you connect with loyal customers who care about where their food comes from and how it was produced.
In short, starting a regenerative farm is good for you, your customers, and the environment.
Now that you’re sold on the movement, let’s dive into how to start a regenerative farm.
1. Learn All You Can
Before making your farm dreams a reality, you need to understand the farming industry, regenerative practices, and what it takes to succeed.
Let’s explore three of the best ways to educate yourself before starting your regenerative farm.
Research the Regenerative Farming Industry
First, research the regenerative farming industry and the practices you’ll follow when planting crops and raising livestock. Here are a few key regenerative farming methods to look into:
- No-till farming minimizes soil disturbance to ensure nutrient-rich fields.
- Cover cropping prevents erosion, suppresses weeds and pests, and keeps soil fertile between planting cycles.
- Crop rotation prevents soil overuse and supports biodiversity.
- Rotational grazing ensures your livestock have adequate grazing room and protects your soil and grasses from overuse.
- Composting and water conservation are cost-effective, minimize waste, and provide sustainable options for growing crops.
We recommend resources like the American Farmland Trust and the Rodale Institute to learn about the industry and get expert tips on how to start a regenerative farm.
Work on a Farm
Next, it’s time to get some real-world experience. Before starting a regenerative farm of your own, we recommend getting a job as a farmhand to see these farming practices in action.
This work experience will give you a firsthand look at the day-to-day operations of a successful farm and help you learn valuable lessons once you start your own, so don’t skip this step.
Find a Mentor
Getting hands-on experience at a regenerative farm will also give you a valuable opportunity to connect with a mentor.
If you’re working with an experienced regenerative farmer, let them know about your aspirations, and keep in touch with them throughout the startup process. They’ll be able to tell you the lessons they’ve learned along the way, share insider tips, and support you as you start your farming journey.
2. Craft a Business Plan
Starting a farm is one thing, but running a profitable farm is another.
That’s why we recommend outlining a full business plan before planting your first crop. Here are some of the key topics your business plan should cover.
Crunch the Numbers
One of the biggest mistakes aspiring farmers make is failing to make a solid financial plan.
Before taking any steps toward purchasing land or farming equipment, set aside some time to research and add up the initial and ongoing costs of running a farm, including:
- Purchasing or leasing land
- Investing in farm equipment
- Securing perishable storage
- Hiring farmhands
- Insuring your farm with liability and crop coverage
- Purchasing initial livestock and seeds
- Technology and marketing costs
Once you have a rough estimate of your costs, try projecting your farm’s revenue. How much meat or produce will you harvest each month? How many sales will you aim to make? How much will you charge for your products?
After calculating your potential expenses and revenue, you can identify your breakeven point, which is when your farm will be profitable.
Identify Your Ideal Customers
Securing a steady flow of revenue depends on your ability to cultivate a dedicated customer base — which is why your regenerative farm business plan should outline exactly who you’re growing for.
Here are a few types of customers who are motivated to seek out and purchase regeneratively farmed meats and produce:
- Health-conscious consumers: These customers will shop at your farm because they want healthy, nutrient-dense options. To appeal to them, follow organic standards and advertise your farm as a healthier alternative to big-box grocery stores.
- Environmental enthusiasts: These customers will shop at your farm because they want to make eco-friendly choices. To appeal to them, use social media or blog posts to explain how your regenerative practices benefit the planet.
- Ethical eaters: These customers will shop at your farm because they want humanely raised meat products. Share photos and videos of your livestock grazing in wide-open fields to give them peace of mind.
- Seasonally-inspired home chefs: These customers will shop at your farm because they want access to local, in-season goods. To appeal to them, post website updates or send email and SMS messages about your latest, freshest harvests.
Everything about your operations — from the products you sell to your website’s design — should cater to your ideal customer.
Nail Down the Logistics
Your regenerative farming business plan should also cover how you plan to sell your harvests.
E-commerce is one of the best options for up-and-coming regenerative farmers. Instead of relying on customers to visit your farm shop in person, you can sell products online.
This approach widens your potential customer base, gives you more opportunities to make sales, and makes it easy for thoughtful customers to find, learn about, and support your regenerative farm.
Here are the three simple steps to launch your online farm store:
- Invest in a farm e-commerce platform: This tool lets you build a farm website, list products for sale, and manage your online orders.
- Implement perishable shipping best practices: Invest in high-quality insulation and sturdy packaging to keep your goods safe during their journey.
- Make a fulfillment plan: Decide whether to partner with a shipping company like FedEx to deliver your products across the country, or hire a team of drivers to help you make local deliveries.
Creating a logistics plan will help you start making sales as soon as you harvest your first crop.
3. Start Investing
Now that you have a plan, you can take your first concrete steps to start your regenerative farm.
Find the Right Plot of Land
Since healthy soil is the most important ingredient for a successful regenerative farm, choosing the right place to plant your roots is critical.
For crops, look for land that has been minimally tilled. This will ensure that your soil is fertile, packed with nutrients, and ready for planting.
If you’re also planning to invest in livestock, our number-one tip is to look for a large plot of land. While traditionally raised animals are often kept in close quarters and fed grain, regeneratively and ethically raised animals require adequate space to roam outdoors and graze on grass.
Secure Farming Equipment
One of the best things about using regenerative practices instead of traditional, till-heavy methods is that you’ll need less equipment.
However, you still need to invest in reliable hand tools like rakes, pitchforks, hoes, and seeders to help you with the planting and harvesting process. As your farm grows, you may need to invest in heavier-duty equipment like a small tractor or build a greenhouse for cold-weather planting.
If you’re on a tight budget, you can opt for used equipment instead of buying new. Simply ask around at your local farmers’ market or search online to find pre-owned farming equipment for sale.
Hire Farmhands
Starting a regenerative farm is a tough job — and you probably won’t be able to tackle it alone.
That’s why you need a reliable team to help you get your farm off the ground.
Especially if you’re new to regenerative farming, consider hiring a few farmhands with previous experience. They can make recommendations and collaborate with you as you establish sustainable, profitable farming practices.
Purchase Meat and Produce Storage
Soon enough, you’ll get to harvest your first crops and meats — which means you need a place to store them.
Invest in coolers and freezers to keep inventory as fresh as possible and get it ready for shipping.
Just like farming equipment, you might be able to find a good deal on used refrigerators and freezers; just make sure they’re reliable enough to keep your harvests safe from temperature fluctuations.
4. Launch Your Marketing Plan
Once you’re on your way to your first harvest, it’s time to build and launch a marketing plan.
Starting a successful regenerative farm means connecting with your community and building relationships with customers who care about their food’s farm-to-fork journey. Here are three steps to make your first sale and beyond.
Build an Online Presence
The best place to connect with customers passionate about supporting regenerative farms like yours is online.
Creating a website lets farm-to-fork aficionados discover, learn about, and buy from your farm.
While creating a website from scratch might sound intimidating, all you need is a farm e-commerce platform with a website builder. This tool should make it a breeze to share information about your farm and sell your farm-fresh goods online.
Make Your First Sale
Now that you’ve set up a basic website, you can start making online sales.
Your farm e-commerce platform should handle the process from start to finish, making it easy to create product listings, organize online orders, and fulfill them quickly and accurately.
Since selling meats and produce online can be tricky, we recommend using a farm-specific tool to manage your e-commerce operation. Look for one that includes features like perishable inventory management and weight-based sales.
Cultivate a Customer Base
While making your first sale is certainly worth celebrating, the next goal as you start your regenerative farm is to generate repeat business.
Here are four essential strategies to build lasting customer relationships:
- Launch a loyalty program: Reward customers when they choose your farm for their meat and produce needs.
- Stay in touch with customers: Send email and SMS updates about your latest harvests and upcoming promotions.
- Offer subscription boxes: Enjoy a steady stream of revenue by offering convenient recurring shipments of your customers’ favorite farm-fresh products.
- Start a blog: Educate your customers and turn them into passionate fans of regenerative farming methods by posting regular blog updates to your website.
Including these methods in your long-term marketing plan will help you achieve sustainable growth when it comes to your customer base.
Start Your Regenerative Farm With GrazeCart
Congratulations! Now that you’ve learned how to start a regenerative farm, you’re ready to take the first steps on your journey.
Turning your farming dreams into a reality is a huge undertaking — but you don’t have to handle it alone.
GrazeCart is a unique tool designed to help you launch and manage your regenerative farming business. Our powerful software has everything you need to track farm inventory, build a website, fulfill online orders, build customer relationships, and grow.
Discover how GrazeCart fits into your regenerative farming plan by starting your free, two-week trial today.